]]>http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/03/03/daylight-saving-time-2015-springs-forward-on-sunday-march-8/feed/0http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/03/03/daylight-saving-time-2015-springs-forward-on-sunday-march-8/Former President George W. Bush will deliver address at SMU’s 2015 Commencement Saturday, May 16http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smuforum/~3/-4jHTdkckl4/
http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/03/03/former-president-george-w-bush-will-deliver-address-at-smus-2015-commencement-saturday-may-16/#commentsTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:44:21 +0000http://blog.smu.edu/forum/?p=16120Continue reading →]]>George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, will deliver the address at SMU’s Commencement ceremony Saturday, May 16, in Moody Coliseum on the main campus.

“This Commencement is especially noteworthy because 2015 is the 100-year anniversary of SMU’s opening. So it is fitting that we should hear from a president who led our nation and the world during historic times and is a valued member of the campus community,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.

SMU expects to award more than 2,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees in the University-wide ceremony.

This is the first time that an SMU Commencement speaker has returned for a second presentation. Mr. Bush’s first Commencement speech at SMU was in 1999, when he was governor of Texas.

George W. Bush has been a long-time member of the SMU family through his marriage to Laura, an SMU alumna, who is currently a member of the SMU Board of Trustees. However, since his 2007 decision to locate his Presidential Center at SMU, he has become an active member of the University community, attending events and visiting classes.

“The Presidential Center and SMU are enjoying numerous partnerships through joint programming and faculty research as well as internships for SMU students,” Turner said. “Through the Center, more than 700,000 people have visited SMU, most of whom never before would have come to our campus. We are grateful for the resources and benefits of the Presidential Center and President Bush’s participation as Commencement speaker during this special time.”

George W. Bush received his bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. After a successful career in business, including as an owner of the Texas Rangers, he was elected governor of Texas in 1994. When he was re-elected in November 1998, he became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms. He is the author of two New York Times number one bestsellers, Decision Points and 41: A Portrait of my Father.

Following the University-wide Commencement, SMU’s schools and departments will hold individual ceremonies throughout the day to present degrees and honor graduates.

SMU‬ checks in at No. 22 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls after Uconn upset.

Men’s Basketball: The Mustangs’ five-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday, March 1, after UConn upset SMU 81-73. The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum for their regular-season finale against Tulsa at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8.

Equestrian: The Mustangs’ Sunday, March 1 meet against South Dakota was canceled due to inclement weather. The next meet for the Mustangs is on Sunday, March 8, against Oklahoma State.

Football: The Mustangs have finalized their 2015 schedule, announcing the addition of James Madison to the slate for the Centennial Celebration and Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, Sept. 26. The first season under new head coach Chad Morris features seven games on the SMU campus, including Ford Stadium match-ups with in-state rivals Baylor and UNT. To view the full schedule, visit the SMU Mustangs webpage.

Men’s Tennis: The Mustangs picked up another win on Sunday, March 1, defeating Incarnate Word 7-0 at the Ann and Brad Brookshire Family Pavilion in the SMU Tennis Complex. SMU returns to the court on Friday, March 6, as it hosts both Sacramento State at 2 p.m., and Texas-Pan American at 6 p.m., at the SMU Tennis Complex.

Women’s Track & Field: The Mustangs finished third at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on Saturday, Feb. 28, at the New Balance Track & Field Center. Finishing with 83 points, the Mustangs were 3.5 points behind second-place UCF and 25 points behind champion Connecticut. Next, the Mustangs will travel to Arkansas on March 13-14 for the NCAA Indoor Championship.

HOPE (Honoring Our Professors’ Excellence) Award recipients are named through student staff member nominations as professors who “have made a significant impact to our academic education both inside and outside of the classroom.”

Eric Larson, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the Lyle School of Engineering, was honored as 2015 Professor of the Year.

The SMU Women’s Symposium will examine women’s progress through the last 50 years as part of its own golden anniversary celebration on Wednesday, March 4, 2015,

More than 600 attendees are expected to gather at the Symposium, created in 1966 as part of the University’s commemoration of its 50th anniversary. Now the longest running event of its kind, the student-led symposium has challenged, changed and broadened women’s perspectives on campus and in the community.

Lilly Ledbetter, namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and an advocate for gender wage equality, will present at noon a keynote address about her 10-year battle for pay equality at Goodyear Tire and Rubber.

“Lilly Ledbetter represents women using their voices to create change,” says Karen Click, director of SMU’s Women and LBGT Center. “We’ve been inspired by that for 50 years and hope that we continue, as women, to examine our voices and use them.”

“For me, Women’s Symposium was a unique opportunity for women to come together to discuss issues in a supportive environment,” says Meg Wuebbels Leal, a Phoenix attorney and government relations specialist who was involved with SMU Women’s Symposium as a student in the late 1980s. “It serves as a great example to young college-age women of how to network and support one another.”

The 2015 symposium will feature a community resource fair, book signing and community awards reception and dinner where Merriott Terry, executive director of IGNITE Texas, will receive the Gail Reese Ward Excellence in Mentoring Award.

The Profiles in Leadership Award will be presented to Roberta Berger, licensed professional counselor and psychologist; Ashley Elsey, founder and owner of Minerva Consulting; Pam Gerbber, executive director, Entrepreneurs for North Texas; Liz Cedillo-Pereira, attorney and founding partner of Cedillo-Pereira and Associates; and Nellie Tafalla, community activist.

The symposium is open to the public and will take place from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at SMU’s Hughes-Trigg Student Center.

During his 41-year SMU career, Gifford served as assistant professor of physical education (1973-80) and then as associate professor and chair of the Department of Health and Physical Education (1980-92) within Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

To make a gift in memory of Peter Gifford, visit the SMU Giving site and choose the Peter B. Gifford Memorial Fund from the drop-down menu.

]]>http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/02/25/simmons-school-creates-scholarship-fund-honoring-peter-gifford/feed/0http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/02/25/simmons-school-creates-scholarship-fund-honoring-peter-gifford/Star students show their work on SMU Research Day, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/smuforum/~3/Wa3BCr_UZUg/
http://blog.smu.edu/forum/2015/02/25/star-students-show-their-work-on-smu-research-day-wednesday-feb-25-2015/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 19:14:48 +0000http://blog.smu.edu/forum/?p=16047Continue reading →]]>SMU graduate students, and select undergraduates, from a wide variety of disciplines will share their work as part of the University’s 2015 Research Day. All SMU faculty, staff members and students are invited to visit the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballrooms from 2-5 p.m Wednesday, Feb. 25, to meet the student researchers and discuss their results.

Awards will be presented at the event’s end, and refreshments will be served throughout.

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, best-selling author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin will visit SMU on Tuesday, Feb. 24 to deliver the Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture. Continuing the 33rd season of Tate Lectures, Goodwin will offer her insight and opinion on current events.

After earning a Ph.D. in government from Harvard University, Goodwin began her career as an assistant to President Lyndon Johnson in his last year in the White House. She later assisted President Johnson in preparation of his memoirs. As a Pulitzer-Prize wining writer of historical biographies, Goodwin has won wide praise for her meticulous, in-depth research and ability to chronicle both the public and private lives of her subjects.

In addition to her six critically acclaimed and New York Times best-selling books, Goodwin’s work has also been featured on the big screen. Based in part on her award-winning Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Goodwin paired with Steven Spielberg at DreamWorks Studio to create the film Lincoln. The film grossed $275 million at the box office and eared 12 Academy Award nominations, including an Academy Award for actor Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal of President Abraham Lincoln.

All SMU students, faculty and staff are invited to the Turner Construction/Wells Fargo Student Forum segment at 4:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Ballroom. Doors open at 4 p.m., and seats may be reserved online.

Tickets to The Anita and Truman Arnold Lecture are sold out. However, SMU students can go to the basement of McFarlin Auditorium at 7 p.m. with their SMU IDs for possible seating on a first-come, first-serve basis.